While most of the science news media was focused on a certain bacon-flavored illness, Obama quietly unveiled his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. And while this team has doesn't have the pure nerd power of Vice-President Gore's Action Rangers, it is still a pretty impressive line-up.
Notable members of the team include Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Human Genome Project leader Eric Lander, MacArthur Genius Award recipient Christopher Chyba, Nobel laureates Ahmed Zewail and Mario Molina, and Microsoft chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie.
After announcing the members of the Council, the White House also unveiled the Office of Science and Technology Policy blog. Shortly after the blog went live, it also got its first blog troll. At least he didn't go with "firsties."
The council will be co-chaired by Lander, biologist Harold Varmus (yet another Nobel Prize winner), and previously announced Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy John Holdren. Whether the team will also fight crime by night has yet to be determined.
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
Check out the best of what's new here.